


From the Top of the Mountain

by pickalily



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Psuedoparents AruMika, Zofia is the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27946283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickalily/pseuds/pickalily
Summary: "You know Falco likes you."Of course, Gabi knows. Everyone knows. She'd be a fool not to notice, but she's far too busy to address the boy's silly crush on her. She's more concerned about other things like learning how to assemble a rifle, disarming men that are three times her size, or climbing an entire mountain in one day. Useful things. Things that will help her become a Warrior.
Relationships: Gabi Braun/Falco Grice
Comments: 24
Kudos: 106





	From the Top of the Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~ I hope everyone is alright ^^ I wrote this in November because I remembered someone wanted me to write a Fabi (I'm still unsure of their ship name). I think it was supposed to be fluff, but I can't really manage writing any fluff right now for some reason so this will just have to suffice ^^"
> 
> I listen to a lot of [ATEEZ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOEkD8pxYMg) when writing things for Gabi and Eren. I think it suits them very well :)

“You know Falco likes you,” Zofia tells Gabi one day as their class hikes up the mountain. It was a trek they took every three months, a test to measure their stamina and mental strength. The students complained about it each time, but there were fewer and fewer students to complain about it each time the mountain rolled around. In some cases it was because the students had dropped out of the Warrior Candidacy Program on their own, but most of the time it was because they were unable to keep up with the high standards they were required to pass to stay in consideration. That was fine with Gabi. It was less competition for her. 

Gabi blows her bangs out of her face with a huff. “Of course, I know Falco likes me,” she replies with a roll of her eyes. Everyone knows that Falco likes her. Only an idiot wouldn’t notice the way he stares at her, eyes as wide as the moon whenever they were in the same room. She doesn’t particularly mind it. Other people might think it’s a hassle, but Gabi really doesn’t care just so long as Falco’s little crush doesn’t get in her way. And, really, most of the time he lagged so far behind her that she didn’t even remember him and his infatuation for her until someone brought it up. 

Take now, for instance. In their class of fifteen, all of them are steadily making their way up the mountain, but Gabi and Zofia are clearly in the lead. Even their instructor is trailing meters behind them, completely out of sight. It’s not such a big deal if some students are ahead. They’ve walked this trail before and Gabi’s confident she can navigate through the forest and to the top without any guide. It’s the people in the back that should be worried. Some people just don’t have the mental fortitude or the stamina to hike up the mountain. Gabi wouldn’t be surprised if a handful of kids dropped out of the program after this. Not Falco, though. Falco would never give up even though Gabi is fairly certain that he’s one of the kids trailing at the very back of the group, panting profusely even though they’re hardly halfway up the path. Udo will probably have to half-carry their friend up the mountain himself. To be honest, sometimes Gabi doesn’t understand why he’s still training to become a Warrior. 

“You could be a little nicer to him, you know,” Zofia says with a click of her tongue. “You know you’re part of the reason why he’s even going through all this.” She waves her hand around vaguely to indicate what “this” is. 

Gabi snorts. “I never asked him to. It’s his own fault if he’s suffering,” she tells Zofia. 

There are more honorable reasons to pursue the title of a Warrior. Falco should be like the rest of his peers, Gabi thinks. He should train for a Warrior as a way to apologize for the sins of his ancestors. Only a few have the chance to prove themselves in that way, and Falco is lucky he’s still under consideration. Then again, it’s not as if he has to. His brother Colt is practically confirmed as the successor of the Beast Titan, so his family will already be one of the few that will be accepted into Marleyan society despite their Eldian ancestry. But it’s not as if he should let this stop him. With Gabi's own cousin being the holder of the Armored Titan, Gabi’s family is also bestowed the same honors as Falco’s will be, but being chosen as a Warrior herself is a personal honor Gabi would like to achieve. In a way, it would be an even higher honor than having a Warrior in the family. She’s not sure if any Eldian family had ever had two members wield Titans. She could make the Brauns the first to have two members sacrifice themselves for the Marleyan Empire. Gabi’s certain that Falco’s motivations aren’t nearly as honorable as hers. In fact, she’d go so far as to say that he’s purely selfish in his pursuit to become a Warrior. She says as much to Zofia. 

“Really?” Zofia asks with a quirk of her eyebrow. Gabi’s companion shrugs, eyes looking skyward. “You know, some people might describe it as romantic, someone risking his life just to be with you.” 

Gabi can only scoff. “He’s getting in the way of others that actually want to serve Marley,” says Gabi. “It’s shameless the way he’s acting.” She doesn’t understand why anyone would go through such grueling training just to stand beside her. Falco’s focus should solely be on becoming a Warrior and seeking forgiveness for the terrible deeds of his family. And, besides, his attempts are pathetic at best. His evaluation scores are nowhere near good enough for him to be considered as a successor to one of the current Titan holders. It would take a miracle for him to be chosen; nearly all of their classmates would have to drop out and, frankly, Gabi can’t see that happening. 

“I suppose so,” Zofia murmurs, looking disinterestedly into the distance. She’s never been one to hold onto a conversation for long. 

They walk together in silence. The only sounds on the mountain are the chirping of birds, the running stream, and the crinkle of leaves beneath scampering animals as they try to pass by undetected by the young cadets. A few times they stop, always because Zofia begs for a break so that they can pause to refill their canteens in the nearby stream or so that they can sit down and rest. Gabi can walk all day. If she were to go alone, she’d reach the top of the mountain an hour or two before the rest of her class arrived, but Zofia doesn’t have the same amount of stamina as Gabi does. The blonde tires a little more easily than Gabi, and she hates hiking up mountains. She despises the little bugs that come out and sting her whenever she’s not looking, and she hates how the air thins out and makes it more difficult for her to breathe the higher up they go. Gabi doesn’t mind any of it. She likes how it hurts her lungs the longer she hikes, and she shows off the angry red bumps on her arms and neck to everyone she knows the next day like they’re badges of honor. The only reason she ever waited for Zofia was because it was boring to hike all alone in the quiet with only nature to surround her. It was nicer to have someone to talk to, although she wished Zofia wouldn’t talk about such trivial things. 

It’s their fifth stop and Gabi is lying on a fallen trunk, ignoring the way Zofia squeals about how bugs will crawl in her hair. A good shower will wash them all away, Gabi reasons. She lays there with her hands folded on her stomach. The girl stares up at the little pieces of the sky that manage to peek out from between the trees. Bored, she reaches up, making an O-shape with her hand as if trapping the blue of the sky before closing her fist. 

“Should we wait for the others?” Zofia asks after returning from refilling their canteens. She throws Gabi’s canteen at her feet, the container falling beside the log with a large _thunk_! Uncapping her canteen, Zofia takes a large swig of hers, making sure to wipe at her chin when water begins to dribble down it. “It’s boring when we get to the top alone. Don’t you want to enjoy the view with everyone else?” 

Gabi pouts. Her finger wraps around a stray lock of hair, twirling it around. “We’re not alone, we have each other,” she points out, but Zofia only rolls her eyes. “Besides, they always take too long coming up here. We’d have to wait forever.” 

“We wouldn’t have to wait forever,” Zofia insists. She kicks at the ground, kicking up leaves and dust. “I heard voices a while ago. A few people should probably be nearby. It won’t take them that long to catch up to us.” 

Gabi makes a scandalized noise. She doesn’t remember the last time anyone had come close to catching up with her on a hike. Maybe the first few times when she had first entered the program, but that was because she was new to the trail and she hadn’t yet built up her stamina. Even when she had begun hiking with Zofia, it would take the next group of people at least fifteen minutes to catch up. Most of the time it took them half an hour. Was she getting slower? 

Zofia stares absentmindedly into the forest, playing with the cap of her canteen. She looks quite pleased with herself. A little too pleased. 

“We’ve been taking a lot more breaks than we usually do,” Gabi realizes as she narrows her eyes suspiciously at her friend. She sits up suddenly, glaring accusingly at Zofia. Her dark hair begins to fall messily out of her bun, but all Gabi does is brush it away from her face impatiently. “Zofia, you slowed us down on purpose, didn’t you?” 

The accused looks down at her fingers and inspects her cuticles. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Ugh, I can’t believe you,” Gabi scoffs in disbelief. She stands up from the log and snatches up her canteen, holding it by the strap and swinging it over her shoulder. She stomps over to Zofia and scowls. “You can relax and have your little meet-up then. I’m going ahead. I don’t need you to slow me down.” She’s about to turn around and storm off when Zofia grabs her by the wrist and pulls her back. 

“Okay, fine, I tricked you,” Zofia says, biting her bottom lip. At least now she has the decency to look guilty about what she’s done. Her hands fall to her sides and she fidgets from foot to foot. “I just … wanted to make sure everyone was alright, but I know you don’t like waiting for people. I didn’t know how to tell you. And I was afraid you wouldn’t want to wait with me.” 

Gabi looks carefully at Zofia, assessing the blonde’s confession. For a second, she doesn’t believe Zofia’s words, but Gabi knows it’s only her anger that wants to believe that. Zofia has always had a soft heart. She cared about people far too much. Gabi would say that was her biggest flaw. If there were anything that would prevent Zofia from being chosen, it would be that. Gabi hates being tricked, but she also hates seeing Zofia wracked with concern over their comrades. 

“Fine,” Gabi huffs, sitting herself down on her log again. She crosses her legs and folds her arms across her chest. Zofia smiles brightly at her, but the brunette stubbornly looks away. “We’ll wait for them just this once, but we’ll reach the top without them. This stretch is the most difficult anyway. If they can make it this far, then the rest of the path will be easy.” 

“Oh, thank you, Gabi!” Zofia bounds over to where Gabi sits, wrapping the pouting brunette in a bone-crushing hug. She doesn’t let go, instead choosing to sit beside Gabi and nuzzle her face into her friend’s neck. 

“You care way too much about everyone,” Gabi scolds, but she smiles as she brushes a lock of blond hair away from her friend’s face. 

They spend the next few minutes trying to identify the various bird calls in the forest, sometimes imitating them the best they could before falling into a fit of giggles. Gabi was never good with identifying different animals and plants. Sure, she could tell if a shriek in the forest was a bird or a deer ― the two calls were vastly different ― but Zofia could tell the different kinds of birds just by the way they chirped or flapped their wings, at least half the time. The only person better than Zofia was probably Udo. The boy wasn’t as good as the girls at hiking up a mountain, but he could probably survive here for a week or two longer. 

It takes the rest of the class less time than Gabi thought to catch up. The first few groups find Gabi and Zofia after five minutes, choosing to sit down and recharge with the girls instead of going on by themselves. If Gabi were them, she would have kept going, but they probably thought they were making good progress if they could catch up to her. Maybe if they knew that Gabi had been tricked into making so many unnecessary stops they would think differently. The instructor comes a few minutes later and the majority of their class trails behind. 

It’s almost painful to have to wait for everyone. Gabi tried to drag Zofia out of the rest stop and back onto the trail, but Zofia stubbornly refused to move from the stump she was seated on. 

“You said we could wait for everyone,” Zofia reminds her. 

“I didn’t think you meant _everyone_ everyone,” Gabi says exasperatedly. She tugs on Zofia’s sleeve again, but Zofia only frowns at her. “Come on, almost everyone came already and people are already starting to hike again. We’re going to fall behind. It’ll look better if we come in first. You know that.” 

“We always do that. And, besides, we could catch up to everyone easily,” Zofia points out. She kicks her legs up and down in the air, pouting. “Come on, it’s not like we have very many people left to wait for. It’s really just Udo and Falco left.” 

_They could take forever_ , Gabi wants to snap, but she knows Zofia hates it whenever she speaks poorly about their friends even if it’s true. Miffed, the young cadet whirls around in a huff and decides to relax by herself by the stream, picking up a stick so that she can wet the tip and draw different patterns in the dirt as she waits. 

Ten minutes pass and most of their classmates that had stopped by have already left, much to Gabi’s annoyance. Every time someone leaves, she glances back at Zofia to see if she’s ready to leave but Zofia just sits patiently, whistling in response to some bird call in the forest. When at last it’s only the two of them, even the instructor stands up and announces that he’s going to go up the trail and that he’ll meet them up there if they’re not going to join him. Gabi almost wants to run after the man and leave Zofia behind, but she knows Zofia would never forgive her. If there’s anyone who knows how to hold a grudge, it’s Zofia. 

“Zofia, can we please, _please_ leave?” Gabi begs after tossing her stick aside. She’s sitting on her knees unhappily, looking up at Zofia with her biggest puppy eyes. Unfortunately, Zofia isn’t one to be easily swayed. 

“You’re so impatient,” Zofia scolds. 

Gabi would argue differently. If anything, she’s been _overly_ patient waiting for everyone to arrive. It’s Udo’s and Falco’s fault for taking such a long time. They should know how to pace themselves properly so that they can make their way steadily up the mountain. They’re probably taking far too many breaks for far too long. Most of the time Gabi feels sorry for their instructor for having to wait for everyone to reach the top of the mountain before leaving, but right now she only feels sorry for herself for being tricked. Next time they make this trek, she’s going to leave everyone including Zofia in her dust. 

There’s an audible _crack_ that can be heard down the path. Zofia turns her head to look, but Gabi already knows it’s Falco and Udo. Falco has always been terrible at walking in the forest undetected, somehow always finding a branch or a pile of leaves to step on as if he’s trying to announce his presence to everyone within the vicinity. Gabi only looks irritatedly in the direction of the noise and sees Udo, a little sweaty and tired, trying to hold up a stumbling Falco who looks as if he’s just about to pass out. Both are red in the face and look like they’re in desperate need of water. Immediately, Zofia jumps to her feet and offers to refill their canteens for them, giving them her own canteen to drink from while they wait. 

The two boys collapse on the ground in front of an unimpressed Gabi. Udo at least has the energy to sit slouched over, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his hand, but Falco is lying spread eagle on the ground, panting heavily with his eyes closed. 

“You guys waited for us?” Udo manages to pant through his heavy breathing. He pushes his glasses up his sweaty nose, nodding in thanks when Zofia comes back with his filled canteen. 

“I wanted to leave, but Zofia insisted we wait until we saw everyone make it to this checkpoint,” Gabi replies. 

“Gee, thanks,” Udo snorts. He drinks his water so fast that he almost chokes on it, and Gabi only scoffs. It’s what he deserves for being so slow. 

Gabi gestures for Zofia to follow her. “Let’s go. We can still catch up if we leave now.” 

“Wh-what?” Falco says, sitting up. He looks less tired now and more alarmed. There are little branches stuck to his hair, but he doesn’t bother shaking them out. “You’re leaving already? But we just got here.” 

“We could wait just a little bit longer while they rest,” Zofia suggests. “It’s not that big of a deal if we don’t make it up the mountain first, Gabi.” 

Gabi purses her lips. She disagrees. “We’ve been here long enough. I want to make it out of the mountain by nightfall,” she tells Zofia. She turns, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “It’s harder navigating the path when it’s dark out even with our lanterns.” 

Zofia looks as if she wants to argue, but she knows she’s tried Gabi’s patience enough over the past half hour. She collects her things, giving the boys an apologetic look as they try to catch their breath. Just as the girls are about to leave, though, Falco calls out. 

“Wait, Gabi!” Falco calls out, standing unsteadily on his feet. He looks as if he’s about to tip over, but the boy shakes off any help Udo offers him, choosing to stumble towards Gabi. “Let us come with you! Just … just give us another minute and we can go.” 

The idea of hiking with Udo and Falco leaves a bitter taste on the tip of Gabi’s tongue. If she leaves now, she at least has the chance of overtaking their instructor and a few of their classmates, but that’ll never happen if she has Falco in her traveling party. She’s never arrived last before and even if it’s a one-time occurrence, Gabi doesn’t want that on her record. Gabi’s about to snap at Falco and tell him that he’s far too slow for her to even consider walking with until she remembers the words Zofia had spoken earlier. 

_You could be a little nicer to him, you know._

Gabi can be nice. She can be kind. She can take this time to encourage Falco and motivate him to be a better candidate. 

She walks over to Falco, before stopping in front of him. Gabi keeps her back straight, head held high even though Falco’s grown a few centimeters taller than her in the past month. With her arms folded across her chest, she says, “I won’t hike up the mountain with you. You wouldn’t be able to keep up with my pace. But if you manage to get up the rest of the way without having to have Udo drag you up _and_ you manage to make it there before the sun sets … I’ll acknowledge you.” 

Falco blinks at her, confused. “Acknowledge me?” he repeats. There’s still sweat dripping down his forehead and his cheeks are still a bright shade of red. He should really quit now before he collapses, but he’s nothing if not stubborn. “Acknowledge me as what?” 

Gabi thinks for a moment. “I’ll acknowledge you as my equal. Someone who is worthy of fighting and standing by my side,” she replies. “I’ll acknowledge you as someone worthy of wielding the Titan’s power.” 

The blond stares at her for a moment, mouth slightly agape before nodding eagerly. “I’ll do it,” he tells her. That’s all she has to hear before turning and going on her way, but Falco is still calling after her. “Gabi, I’ll do it! I’ll see you at the top!” 

Gabi only offers him a careless wave without looking back. She keeps her pace quick so that Zofia has to jog in order to catch up. She knows Udo and Falco are still back at the rest stop and, even though she had just made a deal with Falco, she really doubts she’ll see either of them at the top. 

“Do you think that he’ll actually make it?” Zofia asks as soon as they’re out of earshot. She glances back in the direction of the rest site, but they’ve walked too far to see Udo and Falco. 

“Probably not, but we’ll see,” Gabi says with a shrug. 

Gabi walks the rest of the way at a breakneck pace, practically jogging up the mountain even though the incline makes it more difficult the further she gets uphill. She ignores Zofia’s cries to slow down. If Zofia hadn’t wanted this to happen, she shouldn’t have slowed them down in the first place. Besides, she likes the burn of her calves as she makes her way uphill and she enjoys the way the cold air hits her lungs when she takes a deep breath. Despite her fears that she wouldn’t be able to catch up with her peers, she does so easily, bounding past them as they make their way up the mountain at a leisurely pace. They must have slacked off because they passed by her earlier. What a stupid mistake to make, Gabi thinks with a smirk as she passes by yet another classmate. 

By the time she’s reached the top, she’s sweating profusely but she’s never felt better. Her lungs feel like they’re on fire and her legs feel like jelly, but that’s what hard work feels like. She laughs at Zofia, who’s stumbling to the top behind her, ignoring her friend’s complaints about how they didn’t _have_ to race the rest of the way there. 

“We’ll just take our time going downhill. Going downhill is always easier anyway,” Gabi tells Zofia. 

“Ugh, I don’t think I can even do that,” Zofia moans, sitting on the ground and rubbing her calves. “How about I lie down and you can roll me down the hill?” 

Gabi giggles and runs about, somehow more filled with energy than she was when she first began the trek up the mountain. She breathes in the cold mountain air and walks around the final checkpoint, admiring the view of the mountain. Sometimes she can hardly believe she could walk this far even though she’s made this journey several times over the past few years. The trees look so lush and green, but also tiny from this height. It makes Gabi feel as if she can conquer the world. Arms raised, she runs about like a chicken enjoying its freedom on an open range. 

“I don’t know how you still have energy,” Zofia mumbles. 

“How can I not? The view here is always incredible no matter what time of year it is,” Gabi sighs happily. She stops beside Zofia and bends over, tugging gently on her friend’s ponytail. “Do you want to go down soon?” 

“What? I thought we were waiting to see if Falco would make it here before sunset,” Zofia says, sitting up straight and frowning disapprovingly at Gabi. 

Damn. Gabi had kind of hoped Zofia had forgotten by now. 

Sheepishly, Gabi scratches at the back of her head. “Well, we can always just ask our teacher tomorrow if he made it up. We don’t have to wait for him,” Gabi says with a pout. 

Zofia lightly swats at Gabi’s shoulder. “Let’s just wait for them,” Zofia says. She stands up, brushing off her pants and going off to the side to get a better look at the path to see who else is coming up. “It’s almost sunrise anyway, and I bet the view is even better at sunset.” 

“Fine,” Gabi huffs, glaring at the peachy-pink sky. She’s admittedly never been at the top of the mountain at sunset. She had always left before then, preferring to pass her peers with a smug grin on her face on the way down while they glared tiredly at her. Even if Falco doesn’t make it to the top in time, at the very least she’ll have a good view of the sunset. 

In the end, it’s all she gets. Most of her other classmates have reached the top of the mountain and have either started their trek home or stayed to watch the sunset with their instructor. Even Udo makes it back before Falco, panting heavily as he finally reaches the site. 

“Udo, you made it!” Zofia says happily, offering him her canteen. As he drinks, she peers curiously behind, frowning when she doesn’t see who she’s looking for. “But where’s Falco?” 

“Er, I left him back a short while ago,” Udo mumbles unhappily. He wipes at his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and looks behind him, face full of concern. “He said he’d be fine … I even helped him with his lamp so he’d have some light before it got dark and made sure he knew how to refuel it.” 

Zofia and Udo discuss whether or not they should go back and search for Falco, but Gabi is already getting ready to head back. Falco definitely isn’t going to make it by sunset; the sky is already a deep shade of orange and the sun is disappearing under the horizon. It’ll be night soon and Gabi would rather eat her dinner in the comfort of her own home than huddle next to a fire and wait for her food to warm. 

“Come on, Zofia,” Gabi says, tugging on Zofia’s sleeve. “It’s going to get cold soon.” 

Zofia frowns and is about to open her mouth to protest, but Udo waves her away. 

“It’s fine,” he assures her, gesturing at the instructor behind him. “I’ll wait here with our teacher so Falco has someone waiting for him. You guys can go ahead.” 

“See? Udo says it’s fine,” Gabi says. She’s dragging Zofia away before the blonde can even thank Udo. They’ve already wasted enough time waiting for Falco. 

It’s much darker in the forest when they begin their journey home. Gabi lights her lamp, telling Zofia they can share and save on fuel in case something happens. Nothing will, but it’s good to be prepared. She walks in the front, Zofia trailing cautiously behind her because the mountain is creepier at night. Gabi doesn’t mind it; she thinks it’s funny whenever Zofia shrieks whenever a bush rustles nearby only for the both of them to discover it’s a rabbit trying to hide. 

They cross paths with Falco a few minutes later. He’s so tired that he almost doesn’t see him. Staggering, the cadet looks as if he’s about to pass out. Gabi stands in place, feeling nothing but disappointment when she sees him, but Zofia rushes to his side and wipes the sweat from his forehead with her handkerchief. 

“Falco, oh! You really came all this way by yourself? You can stop now, you know,” Zofia says. She’s uncapping her water bottle and handing it over to him so that he can take a drink, but the boy only pours it over himself, drenching his shirt in the process. Zofia glares at Gabi as if this is all _her_ fault for some reason. “Why don’t you just come back with us? I’m sure our teacher will understand if we tell him tomorrow.” 

Falco shakes his head, wiping his brow. “No, it’s fine,” he pants. He hands the container back to Zofia. His jaw is squared, brow knit in determination. “I can do this. I’m almost done.” 

“Why does it matter? It’s already past sunset,” Gabi points out impatiently. Falco’s stubbornness is a quality that Gabi had previously admired, but she’s found that it’s also one of his biggest faults. If he keeps going like this, he’s only going to end up hurting himself. He should really know when to quit. “Just quit.” 

Falco turns to look at her. His face is dimly lit by her lantern, but she can see the anger in his eyes and the disbelief in his face. Most of all, though, he looks hurt. He opens his mouth and it looks like he’s about to say something to her, but he suddenly turns on his heel and flees up the mountain without another word. 

Zofia looks absolutely disgusted with her. “You’re so terrible,” Zofia says. She also turns to leave, continuing down the path back home. 

“You guys are just too sensitive,” Gabi says, but Zofia is already steps ahead and gives no indication that she’s listening. With an exasperated sigh, Gabi jobs over to catch up with Zofia, finding it uncharacteristically difficult to catch up with her friend. If all it takes to make Zofia walk faster is making her mad, maybe Gabi should do it more often. 

Ten minutes in, there’s a sudden shout from the top of the mountain and the two girls whip their heads back in alarm. Birds flutter from the trees at the noise and, scared, Zofia huddles behind Gabi. There’s another scream, but Gabi can’t quite hear the words that are being said. 

“What is that?” Zofia hisses in Gabi’s ears, clutching so hard that Gabi can feel her nails digging into her skin despite the fabric of her shirt. “Who is that?” 

“Shut up, I’m trying to listen,” Gabi snaps. 

The two of them stand there, straining their ears to hear. The voice is oddly familiar and Gabi recognizes it as Falco. His voice is shrill, loud enough to be heard across the mountain. She’s sure that even the people who are at the bottom can hear him. When she realizes just _what_ he’s saying, her ears begin to burn and her face flushes a brilliant shade of scarlet. 

**_I love you, Gabi Braun, do you hear me? I love you! I love you, Gabi!_ **

It goes on like that for far too long. Zofia is looking at Gabi amusedly, poking her friend in the side. 

“That’s so cute,” Zofia gushes even as Gabi pulls away and hurriedly walks away, trying to get as far away from the source of her embarrassment as possible. “Gabi, don’t you think that’s cute?” 

“Shut up!” Gabi snaps, practically stomping down the trail. Her cheeks are still burning even after the shouting has stopped. Every now and again, Zofia will whisper in her ear, “ _I love you, Gabi Braun_ ,” and Gabi will swat her friend away before quickening her pace and wishing to never hear those words ever again. 

* * *

“I love you, Gabi,” Falco says. 

Their backs are pressed against a broken stone wall, the remains of a building destroyed during the battle still raging on. All around them are screams of terror and explosions so loud that Gabi’s sure she’s lost her sense of hearing in her ear. Buildings are crumbling all around them and civilians are trying to escape the chaos, their ear-splitting shrieks cutting through the air. Soldiers from Paradis and Marley are both running towards the source of destruction: Eren Jaeger in his Titan form, a fifteen-foot monster in the center of the city throwing its head back and letting out a beastly howl. 

It’s not the time for a confession. Had Falco done this a year ago, Gabi would have smacked him for bringing up something so trivial when the world is shattering before their eyes, but that was back when she didn’t know what war was really like. She doesn’t have Zofia beside her to snicker at Falco’s inopportune timing and Udo isn’t there to shush Falco. Her instructors are all dead, destroyed by the falling rubble overhead or killed after taking enemy fire. She doesn’t know where her cousin is, if he’s dead or still alive, and she doesn’t even dare to hope for the best because the heartbreak will be too unbearable if it turns out she had hoped for nothing. 

Gabi shakes her head, choking on tears that are already spilling despite her best efforts to keep them in. “I don’t want to hear you say that,” she lies, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of gunshots and screams of the dying. “I don’t want you to say that until all of this is over … and then you can tell me as much as you want. But until then … don’t say it.” 

Falco nods once, but his expression is devoid of hope. He clutches onto her hand tightly, squeezing so hard that his knuckles turn white and Gabi’s hand feels numb. She doesn’t tell him to let go though, nor does she pull away from him. 

“If we make it out … no, _when_ ,” Gabi stresses, not wanting to believe the possibility that they won’t, “I’ll tell you I love you too, so stay alive until then. Do you hear me, Falco Grice? I’m telling you, you have to stay alive.” 

The boy gives her the saddest smile, nodding only once to indicate that he’s heard. His grip on her hand loosens and he reaches up with both hands to cup her face gently. Even though her blurry vision, Gabi can see the tears welling up in the boy’s ocean eyes. He brings her face ever closer to his, lips slightly parted, and she wants to tell him to stop, that they’ll have all the time in the world to be together like this. Still, she lets her lips meet his, clutching desperately to the front of his shirt as he presses his lips hard against hers. His lips are dry and taste like dust and tears, but they’re warm and comforting. Gabi doesn’t want it to stop. She wants to forget about everything happening around them. She wants to be with Falco, her lips against his, even if it’s for a little while more. 

Falco pushes her away just as gently, reaching up to wipe the tears away from her eyes. He takes her hand in his once more and pulls her with him. Where they’re running to, Gabi doesn’t know. She doubts Falco knows either, but still she follows him. Wherever they’re going, it doesn’t matter as long as they’re together. They only have each other left. 

They run past sobbing mothers clutching their dead children to their chests, past soldiers bleeding out on the wrecked cobblestone paths, and past broken houses with shattered windows. They run even though there’s so much dirt and dust that it’s impossible to see what’s in front of them. They run even though there’s no escape. Gabi wants to tell Falco to stop and find a place to hide, maybe someplace underground where nobody can find them, but even she knows that destruction will find them no matter where they go. So she follows him even though dust fills her lungs and endless tears stream down her cheeks. 

The two make it to a stone bridge, somehow miraculously still intact despite the surrounding mayhem. They’re about to cross it, foolishly believing that the little distance will help protect them, when a bolt of lightning cracks across the sky and thunder rumbles in the distance. Gabi knows she shouldn’t look, but she turns her head and sees storm clouds surround the center of the city where she had last seen the Attack Titan. A large cloud like a mushroom begins to bloom where the Titan stood but it only takes a second before the cloud falls in on itself and a huge gust of wind blows towards the site. Even with Falco putting his arms tightly around her, Gabi can feel the two of them almost being swept away with the gale. Gabi shuts her eyes tightly as the wind whirls around them and, after it stops, opens them to see that a giant skeleton, not unlike that of a dragon or a monstrous lizard, has manifested where the Titan once stood. 

“What … is that?” Gabi asks, almost unable to speak. She stands there unable to move, watching as that _thing_ rises and lets out a horrible roar that shakes the earth. Gabi’s eyes widen as she sees the skeleton lift its tail and lets it drop. 

The world trembles and debris fly into the sky as the monster Titan whips its tail black and forth. Gabi stares open-mouthed at it, thinking it’s truly the end. There’s no force on this earth that can stop it, so it’s pointless to even try to escape. She doesn’t even move when Falco begins to shake her, trying to snap her out of her shock. 

“Gabi! Gabi! We need to leave! Gabi! We have to go!” he’s shouting, shaking her even though she remains rooted in place. Gabi is about to tell him to quit — any attempt at survival is surely futile — but he suddenly freezes in place looking at something overhead. Without warning, he shoves her away and she only realizes what happens when she hears a horrible thud and looks up from where she’s fallen. In the place that Falco had been standing only a second ago was a large boulder, a pool of blood beneath it. 

“F-Falco?” Gabi scrambles to the boulder, ignoring the bleeding of her palms and the scrape on her knee. She spots the broken body trapped underneath the boulder, but she hesitates before going to it. She wants to think it’s impossible that Falco is the one lying there; he had just been with her, terrified and lost but still alive. She can’t imagine him dying now, not like this, not when everyone else has left her. Gabi knows, though, that she can’t rewrite reality no matter how desperately she wants to, and she crawls over to the body, reaching out to touch the limp hand underneath. “F-Falco, it’s me. Come on. You can’t leave me now.” 

Tears are running down her face and she’s sobbing, big ugly sobs that can probably be heard for miles and miles. She wants to scream and thrash about. She wants everyone to know the loss of her friend. She wants everyone to know how painful her heartbreak is. In her mourning, she almost doesn’t feel the light squeeze that Falco gives her or the boy’s last murmurings. Wiping away her tears hastily, she brings herself closer to the boy’s face, wiping the blood on his face with her sleeve. 

“G-Gabi,” he mumbles, voice bubbling as he spits out blood and saliva. His blue eyes look as if they’re made of glass and even though he’s speaking to her, his gaze is faraway. “G-Gabi, I’m s-sorry. C-couldn’t s-s-stay.” 

“No, no, you have to, Falco,” Gabi babbles. She wipes the blood from his mouth, meaning to clean it away but only managing to smear blood across the dying boy’s cheek. Her tears drip down her cheeks, falling onto Falco as the girl desperately tries to talk to him. “You said you loved me, didn’t you? I heard you today and before, too. You said so at the top of the mountain. Falco, I love you, too. Do you hear me, Falco? I love you, so stay with me.” 

Falco looks up at her, eyelids drooping as he smiles a lop-sided smile. “S-sorry, Gabi,” he whispers before the light leaves his eyes and his hand grows limp in hers. 

Gabi sobs. They aren’t the words she had wanted to hear. 

* * *

Gabi wakes from a gentle shake. When she opens her eyes, she sees Mikasa standing over her, the woman looking over her with a face filled with concern. It’s been a year since the war ended, yet Mikasa still wears the same frown she did when the Founding Titan went to sleep forever, leaving them to deal with the carnage it had left behind. Gabi had asked Armin if Mikasa had always been like that and the man had simply given her a gentle pat on the head. She’s seen Mikasa smile on occasion and it’s become a more frequent occurrence as the days pass by, but there are still days where the mournful expression seems to be etched on the woman’s face. 

“What is it?” Gabi says groggily, sitting up. She rubs the sleep from her eyes, squinting them as she tries to get used to the sunlight. It must be a little after sunrise because the light that floods the room is a beautiful gold, soft and bright and warm. She wants to bask in it. 

“Mmm, Armin and I were just going for a walk,” Mikasa says. She brushes Gabi’s hair back from the young girl’s eyes. “We wanted to know if you wanted to come with us.” 

“It might make you feel better,” Armin, the gentle blond ex-soldier that had taken Gabi in with Mikasa, says. He smiles more often than Mikasa does, but sometimes Gabi catches the man looking out the window with the most lost expression on his face as if he’s searching for something out in the open sky. She’d ask him what he’s looking for, but she has a feeling that he doesn’t quite know himself. 

“It’s okay,” Gabi mumbles. She lays back down in bed, pulling the blanket closer around her body. She feels Mikasa tuck her in gently; it’s a habit for Mikasa to tuck Gabi in bed even though Gabi has never asked the woman to do it. She’s never asked her to stop either. It’s kind of comforting to be taken care of. 

Armin nods, the answer as expected as it is every week. Mikasa and Armin always go out for a walk every week. They say it’s therapeutic, but Gabi finds it difficult to muster up the energy to get out of bed some days. They still invite her in case she changes her mind, although the girl wonders why when she always declines their offer. 

It feels wrong to be out for a leisurely stroll when so many of her loved ones will never walk this earth again. All her friends and family are dead or have been declared missing, their bodies never found. Although their deaths haven’t been declared official, Gabi doubts there’ll be a change in status when a year has passed with no news. Even all of their things have been destroyed along with them. Gabi doesn’t have a single thing to remember them by except for the memories of them, but even those are fading fast. There are days where she wonders why, out of everyone, she had to be one of the few to survive. She’s not sure if it’s luck or just the universe punishing her. Whatever it is, she feels she doesn’t deserve it. She just wants to lie in bed covered in blankets until her body rots away into nothing. 

Gabi covers her head with her blanket as Mikasa and Armin slip on their shoes and coats. The layers of blankets are stifling, but she kind of likes how difficult it feels to breathe. 

As the two ex-soldiers pack their bags and leave for their hike, Gabi wonders about the last time she had gone out. How long had it been since she had been outside and had fun? It seems so long ago. All she can really recall are war-torn roads and broken buildings. Even the times before that weren’t all that pleasant. Before everything had been destroyed, she had been on the run after being caught by enemy soldiers and put in jail. After escaping her cell, she had run as fast as her legs could carry her and had no time to appreciate whatever beauty Paradis had to offer her. It’s too late to do so now; the war had swept away any beauty the island had along with countless lives. 

But there must have been a time before that, a time where Gabi didn’t have to fear for her life or for the survival of her loved ones. It was a long time ago when she strolled the streets of Liberio. She could have walked those cobblestone streets forever, skipping from stall to stall and taking in all the scents of freshly baked pastries or the aroma of fruit that were perfectly ripened. She used to love running with her friends in the fields, never minding the grass staining her clothing even though her mother would always scold her because they were so difficult to wash out. Her cousin Reiner would come visit her family every other night, oftentimes bearing succulent meats from the market that he could afford from the compensation Warriors received. Even now, Gabi’s mouth waters at the thought of eating tender pot roast, Reiner’s favorite. 

The more she thinks about it, the more Gabi misses everyone. She misses climbing trees in the forest as Zofia shouts at her to get down before she hurts herself. She misses teasing Udo for always having his head stuck in a book, reminding him that not everything can be learned through textbooks. She misses Falco overall. 

_You could be a little nicer to him, you know_. 

Why Zofia’s words come back to haunt her years later. It only makes Gabi regret not listening to Zofia from the beginning. Her chest feels tight and she can feel her eyes prickle with tears. She could have been more patient with Falco. She shouldn’t have looked down on Falco just because he wasn’t as athletic or as academically inclined as the other Warrior candidates. She should have told him he didn’t need to be, or at least helped him a little bit when he was pushing himself to complete every ridiculous training exercise the Marleyan officials pushed on them. She should have been kinder. 

Gabi rolls around in bed, throwing the blanket away from her face and gasping for air. 

She should have told him she loved him that day on the mountain when he screamed her name. She should have answered him. She should have told him she heard him and that she loved him too. 

Suddenly, she bolts from the bed, tossing her blankets to the side and flying out the door. Gabi doesn’t bother to shut the door behind her in her haste. She doesn’t even bother putting on her shoes either, slipping out in just her pajamas and slippers because she needs to catch up to Mikasa and Armin before it’s too late. She spots them down the path not too far away, walking a casual pace as if they have all the time in the world. Gabi doesn’t bother calling out to them, instead using all her energy to run as fast as she can to catch up. As she nears them, her footsteps grow louder and the two ex-soldiers turn around, eyes widening in alarm and then surprise when they see the young girl sprinting towards them. 

“Gabi, are you alright?” Mikasa asks as the girl all but falls into her arms. The woman sweeps the hair out of Gabi’s face, brow knit in concern. “What’s wrong?” 

Armin kneels down so that he’s closer to Gabi’s height, putting a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. “You don’t seem to be sick,” he murmurs with a frown when he doesn’t detect a fever. 

Gabi shakes her head, waving the man’s hand away. She’s still trying to catch her breath after her run; it’s been so long since she’s done any type of physical activity. She never imagined she’d ever be this out of shape. After a moment, she says, “I want to … know where you’re walking. Where are you going?” 

“Where?” Armin repeats in confusion. He turns to Mikasa, who only shrugs at him in reply. The man returns his attention to Gabi and replies, “Just … up the hills, I suppose. It’s the same route we always walk. Why?” He gestures towards the direction that he and Mikasa had been walking. 

The hills that Armin points to are a distance away. Autumn has decorated the forested hills red and orange. Back in Liberio, the trees had always stayed a lush shade of green. Gabi thinks she doesn’t mind the change. It’s strange, but it’s not unpleasant. She wonders what it would be like to walk through a forest with such warm colors surrounding her. 

“Can I come with you?” Gabi asks them. 

The two look at each other for a moment in silent questioning before Mikasa turns to the girl with a small smile. “I don’t see why not,” the woman says. She takes Gabi’s hand in hers and leads her to the direction of their house. “Why don’t we get you changed first? It’ll get chilly out if you’re dressed in your pajamas.” 

They dress Gabi in layers of clothes that had been given to them by the Braus family. Most of them had been Kaya’s old clothes, but Mrs. Braus couldn’t stand to have them in the house anymore after the young girl’s death and it would be a while until any of Kaya’s adoptive siblings would grow into them. The clothes still smell like Kaya. 

The three of them walk through golden fields as they follow the trail up to the hills. It’s nothing compared to the trek up the mountain that Gabi used to make up the mountain every few months as a Warrior trainee, but this path seems so much longer. Her feet ache before they’re even up the hill and Gabi wonders if it’s because of her shoes or because she hasn’t stepped outside in so long. She feels embarrassed at how much attention Mikasa and Armin are giving her. Every once in a while, one of the two will ask her if she’s alright or needs a break. She always shakes her head, not wanting to seem weak. Gabi hardly ever needed to take breaks when she was a trainee. When it’s clear that Gabi won’t admit to needing a break, Armin makes them take one anyway. 

“I never really had the best stamina even when I was in the trainee corps,” he explains with a smile. He’s seated on a rock, gesturing for Gabi to join him. When the girl sits down beside him, he passes her his canteen so that she can take a drink. “It’s good to take a break every now and again though, don’t you think?” 

Gabi only nods, murmuring her agreement as Mikasa fixes the girl’s scarf. She’d always seen taking breaks as a sign of weakness, but it’s nice sitting here with them like this. A few years ago, Gabi would have been rushing towards the top of the hills, wanting to get it done as soon as possible just so she could prove she could beat everyone. Now, though, she’ll just be glad if she makes it to the top. 

“Am I slowing you two down?” Gabi wonders. She doesn’t remember how long it usually takes Armin and Mikasa to complete their walks. Some days they’re away the entire day while other days they return home after an hour. 

“Not at all,” Mikasa assures with a shake of the head. She declines the water that Gabi offers her politely, gesturing at the canteen she has strapped across her chest. “There’s no real goal or anything for us when we take these walks. We just walk however long we want at whatever pace. It’s relaxing that way.” 

“I see,” Gabi says. She does feel a little calmer than she did before she left the house. She feels more at ease than she ever has in her life, now that she thinks about it. The girl stretches her legs, noticing how much they ache already even though she’s covered more ground than this when she was in Liberio without any trouble. “I think I’d like to get to the top of the hills before the day ends.” 

“That’s a good goal,” Armin says. He pats Gabi’s knee. “Let’s go when you’re ready.” 

They start on their hike up the hills again soon after that, and Gabi’s more willing to stop and take rests. She still can’t identify any of the animals that the three come across, but Armin is more than willing to answer any questions she has about them. She finds that many of the animals on Paradis are ones that she’s seen or learned about in Liberio, although there are some she’s never heard of at all. Sometimes she’ll hear a bird call and try to imitate it, although she knows she’ll never be as good as Zofia was. Mikasa always smiles whenever Gabi puts her hands to her mouth and lets out a loud whistle and even allows the girl to teach her how to make bird calls. Most of the time, the woman only manages to let out a low sputtering noise, but Gabi likes the way Mikasa laughs at the noise. 

Even if the weather is chilly, the sun is bright enough to warm with its golden rays bursting through the red and orange foliage. The exercise also has Gabi’s calves burning and her lungs aching, but they hurt in a good way. She doesn’t think she’s ever enjoyed walking this much before, aimlessly with only the goal to reach the top without a time limit in mind. 

“I bet it’s pretty at the top,” Gabi says. The hill is nowhere near as tall as the mountain she used to climb and it’s not even a special time of day. It’s not dawn or dusk, just a little before noon. The sky’s a regular clear blue, sparse clouds hanging overhead, but it’s not something Gabi wouldn’t be able to see any other day. 

“It’s nice, especially at this time of year,” Mikasa says. She holds out her hand, fingers wiggling as she waits for Gabi to take it. “Come on. We’re nearly there.” 

The old Gabi would have ignored Mikasa’s hand or maybe even swatted it aside rudely. Now, she simply takes the woman’s hand in hers, noting how rough the skin of Mikasa’s hand is. It doesn’t make it any less comforting. Armin follows closely behind them, a hand on Gabi’s back as the three travel upward together. They crush crisp autumn leaves underfoot, the sound loud above the calming quiet of the forest. As they reach the top of the hill, Gabi unintentionally walks faster, tugging on Mikasa’s hand to urge her to walk faster. She tugs a bit too hard and turns around to apologize, but the woman only laughs and quickens her pace with Armin following quickly along. 

As soon as she reaches the top, Gabi lets go of Mikasa’s hand, arms outstretched as the cold autumn breeze cuts across her cheek. She opens her eyes to the bright blue sky, smiling so widely that her cheeks hurt. The view from this height really is as pretty, as Mikasa said it was. The trees look like a sea of red and orange leaves, warm and inviting. Armin had told her earlier that the trees would soon be bare, the leaves falling as the cold creeps in and snow begins to blanket the ground every night. She wonders if it’ll still be beautiful then. 

So many people won’t be able to see this — the forest aflame in warm auburn hues and golden fields stretching beyond the forest. They won’t be able to feel the cold wind on their faces. They can’t feel the sunlight, warm on their skin despite the brisk autumn air. Mr. Braus and Kaya, Udo and Zofia, her cousin Reiner. Falco. 

Gabi feels her nose begin to run and she sniffs loudly. Mikasa looks at her curiously, surprised when she sees the sudden tears welling up in the girl’s eyes. Hastily, she brings out a handkerchief from her pocket and wipes at Gabi’s eyes before folding it up and bringing it to the girl’s nose and telling her to blow. 

“What’s wrong, Gabi?” she asks softly. 

Once the tears begin to fall, it’s difficult to stop them. They drip down her cheeks, overflowing from her eyes. “N-no,” Gabi whispers with a shake of her head. She rubs at her face messily with the handkerchief Mikasa had provided until the woman takes it away and dabs at the girl’s face gently. “I m-miss everyone. I m-miss the Braus’. I miss my f-family. I miss my f-friends. I m-miss Falco.” 

Mikasa smiles sympathetically. “I know. I miss them too.” She wraps her arms around Gabi, her embrace warm. She whispers, “It’s okay. Just cry.” 

On her back, she feels Armin’s hand again. It’s just as warm and comforting. Gabi doesn’t have to turn around to know that he also wears the same sad and sympathetic smile his partner does. 

“The l-last time I went on a trip l-like this,” Gabi hiccups as Mikasa runs her hand soothingly up and down the girl’s back, “All of my friends were with me: Z-Zofia-, Udo, and F-Falco. We all walked up an entire m-mountain with our c-class. Falco was l-last. He was always so b-bad at any kind of e-exercise. I d-didn’t think he would m-make it.” Her face screws up as she remembers how horrible and cruel she was to him that day. She hadn’t even given him a chance. She should have been nicer. “I sh-should have been n-nicer. I was always so m-mean to him.” 

“It’s okay,” Mikasa tells her. “Whatever it is you’ve done, I’m sure he would forgive you.” 

This only makes Gabi sob harder. “H-he told me he loved me o-once. When he w-went up the mountain all by h-himself,” Gabi says, voice shaking. She clutches at her chest to steady breathing, but it does nothing. “A-and he told me he l-loved me. I d-didn’t say anything. I h-hated it. I d-didn’t speak to him for a w-week after that, but I wish I c-could hear him say it just one more t-time.” Her eyes are burning with tears that won’t stop falling and she’s gasping for air from all the sobbing. Mikasa and Armin don’t shush her or even try to stop the tears from falling. They just stay with her, letting her cry until she’s empty. 

“I only got to t-tell him when it was t-too late, but I l-loved him too. I m-miss him … and I l-love him,” Gabi sobs. Her chest hurts. It feels like her lungs are about to burst and her heart feels as if it’s being squeezed. Her eyes are red and swollen from all her crying. Gabi hasn’t cried this much in her life. “I l-love him, I l-love him,” she says over and over again as Mikasa holds her tightly. 

Gabi wants to say the words over and over until she can’t say them anymore. She wants to scream the words until she runs out of breath and her voice grows so hoarse she can’t speak anymore. She wants to shout them so that everyone can hear them. 

So she does. 

“ _ **I love you, Falco Grice, do you hear me? I love you. I love you, Falco**_ **!** ” Gabi shouts. She shouts them to the sky, her voice startling the birds from the trees and causing them to take flight. She screams so loudly that the bushes rustle and the trees shake. She howls the words, letting the wind carry her voice so that everyone will hear even though Falco never will. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really like writing pieces like this. It makes me feel happy to fit in little bits of parallelism in the beginning and the end. I actually haven't read Attack on Titan in a while so I'm not really sure what's happening, but I'm super stoked to watch the fourth season! I really love MAPPA as an animation studio. 
> 
> My boyfriend always betas for me but he actually hasn't been caught up w/ SnK for a while and he doesn't remember a lot. He always writes comments like "oh, did this happen in canon? It's so tragic. You wrote it well!" and I have to tell him, haha. 
> 
> Zofia was probably my favorite to write. Somehow, minor characters are always so fun to write. I also really liked AruMika. They're so cozy. I should really write them sometime! 
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Please leave a comment or a kudos (or both!) if you feel like it :) Thank you for reading!


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